St Vincent de Paul: Pilgrims of Hope in the Parish of SS Dunstan and Jude

Elsie Healy

The writer is a 13-year-old pupil at Bishop Challoner Catholic College in Birmingham. She was awarded third prize in the Columban Schools Competition 2025: 'Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope'.

During this Jubilee Year, Pope Francis has called us to put Catholic Social Teaching into practice by caring for the common home, supporting others experiencing conflict, hunger or poverty and being signs of hope. The volunteers of St Dunstan's St Vincent De Paul Society (SVP) epitomise what a Pilgrim of Hope can truly look like.

The SVP mission statement is "to seek and find those in need, to help them in a spirit of justice and to tackle causes of poverty where we can". The SVP work with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our community by bringing hope and love to those who may appear to have been forgotten.

One group of people who they support are women fleeing domestic abuse who usually arrive at the refuge with just a bin liner of necessities. If they have children, these necessities are more often than not for the children which means the women themselves have few clothes or toiletries. SVP help by providing groceries, clothes, toiletries and sometimes baby equipment such as Moses baskets, cots, buggies, toys and books. Most of these have been donated but sometimes SVP will raise money through fundraising events to buy them. The impact of this work is that women who are scared and traumatised find safety and peace in an empathetic environment and are given reassurance and hope that life can get better. SVP do this because of Jesus' teaching "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me".

Pope Francis also calls on us to be close to those who are lonely. SVP run a weekly lunch and activity day for elderly people in Sheltered accommodation. Before Christmas, the volunteers ran art classes where elderly people, from all walks of life, had the opportunity to come together, learn a new skill and showcase their artistic talents. The elderly were treated with dignity and respect, formed friendships that lessened the feeling of isolation and gained a boost in confidence as they tried new things. Their artwork was printed into a calendar, bringing a sense of worth, pride and importance to the activity. Jesus said, "I am not alone for my Father is with me". The SVP are physical reminders that nobody is, or needs to be, alone; through their actions, they are the hands and feet of Christ.

Throughout the year, SVP run life saving foodbanks, soup kitchens, summer holiday clubs and food parcels. SVP are listening to the 'cry of the poor, who suffer most' (Pope Francis). The people who use these services do so knowing they will be treated with dignity and without judgement. At Christmas, SVP provided 150 families in the community with hampers containing turkey, potatoes, carrots, peas, stuffing, gravy granules, mince pies, biscuits and chocolates. This allowed families to have peace of mind that they could sit and celebrate Christmas, which can be a very stressful and worrying time of the year.

The volunteers at St Dunstan's SVP are mostly people who are retired but still very much want to play a useful part in the community. The SVP volunteers understand their role and responsibility in standing in solidarity with fraternity and to work for the common good of society. Karen, a very active and humble SVP member told me "I believe that as individuals we can do nothing to change the world but together, we can make our little corner of it a little better". Pope Francis goes further than this saying "all it takes is one good person to restore hope". From this, we can be inspired to serve our community. knowing that our individual contributions can come together to make great impact on the society around us.

SVP meetings open with a prayer and a reflection, reminding volunteers that they can only do what they do with God's help and that they are following the example St. Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frédéric Osanem in doing what Jesus asked us to do: look after the needy as whatever we do we do for Him.

As well as the adult SVP volunteers, there are also Mini Vinnies (MV) working within the local parishes. They too are important in bringing hope to all corners of the community and carry out their calling of 'turning concern into action'. MVs in local parishes have organised book and cake sales, non-uniform days, food collections and sponsored events such crazy hair days and disco dancing marathons, to fundraise for different local organisations. MVs are proactive in caring for creation and take their role as stewards very seriously by planting nature gardens, litter picking, acting as eco ambassadors and promoting initiatives such as recycling crisp packets and toothpaste tubes. MVs also bring joy and hope to the lonely, elderly and sick by visiting care homes and a dementia café where they sing, make cards and chat to the people there every half term.

The SVP and MVs prove that being a Pilgrim of Hope is above age, race, ability and social standing. To be a Pilgrim of Hope is to have faith in God and 'to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind' (Pope Francis).

The work of all those associated with the St Vincent de Paul Society exemplifies that 'hope does not disappoint'.

J Coughlan, Principal, Bishop Challoner Catholic College, said: "We are absolutely delighted to hear that Elsie Healy has been awarded 3rd place in the Columban Missionaries media competition. The entry submitted by Elsie has superbly captured what it really means to be a Pilgrim of Hope in this year of Jubilee. Her work through the SVP and Mini-Vinnies has delivered a strong message of hope to those in need within our community. Elsie also epitomises the mission statement of Bishop Challoner Catholic College in that, we give glory to God in service to others. Elise is a proactive witness to the call of Catholic Social Teaching and as a school we are extremely proud of her work and her achievements."

All winners in the competition can be read here: www.columban competition.com